In an interview just before being installed as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Camden, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan was forthright in discussing the primary role of a bishop.
“The bishop is the pastor,” Bishop Sullivan said. “The managing part has to be done, of course, but that’s not his principal role. So, if you’re a new pastor, you have to get to know your people. A pastor is someone who is with his people, and present to his people.”
That sense of presence has been evident during the 12 years that Bishop Sullivan has served the Diocese, said priests and parishioners who have come to know him.
“He is very much a people person,” said Father Raymond Gormley, pastor of Saint Brendan the Navigator Parish in Avalon. “He wants to be among his people. It has always been prominent in the way he has ministered, not tucked away in the office.”
Father Gormley said that Bishop Sullivan’s presence in the parishes speaks volumes. “He truly cares for the people entrusted to his care. He is the shepherd – an awesome responsibility, helping people get to heaven.”
Father John March, pastor of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Mays Landing, agreed, explaining how the Bishop has always made people feel seen.
“One way that he does it is with his sense of humor,” Father March said. “I remember during confirmations, one of his trademarks is that when the children are coming up to be confirmed, he has something to say to make everybody smile – the sponsor and the child.”
In addition, Father March said, “He sees [the children’s] name on their nametags and remembers the letters that they wrote to him about why they want to be confirmed. He references that letter as they’re coming up. Unbelievable.”
Bishop Sullivan, Father March said, makes parishioners feel like he wants to spend time with them. “It’s really a ministry of presence.”
Personally invested
Father Sanjai Devis, VC, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Williamstown, said that ministry is especially seen when the Bishop greets South Jersey’s faithful.
“Bishop Sullivan always stays after Mass to greet everyone to the last person,” Father Devis said. “He spends time with each person, high-fiving kids, making comments about a T-shirt, always something personal. I was always impressed that he found time with all of his business for a personal encounter with each parishioner.”
Parishioners feel that they have been able to know the Bishop, too, Father Devis added. “Rather than just see the Bishop as the head of the Church, parishioners have felt a personal relationship with him because of the number of times he visited parishes.”
Bethann Lee can relate. Lee, of Church of the Holy Family in Sewell, recalled knowing that it was important for her then-young children to see the Bishop visit her parish. “It was a teaching point to the children about what the bishop is in the hierarchy of the Church.”
She also said it was good to see her children serve with Bishop Sullivan. “When the kids were altar servers, they felt it was a special thing to serve with the Bishop at confirmations or other Masses. It’s a special memory for them.”
For herself, Lee added how much she has always enjoyed the Bishop’s homilies. Priests, too, say homiletics is another way Bishop Sullivan has shown love for his people.
“His preparation communicates his love, and his energy level communicates his love,” Father March said. “He has great emotional intelligence, and he always has a great sense of what a person needs.”
Attention to detail
Father March credits his own calling to the priesthood to Bishop’s attention to detail and “ministry of presence,” which can be something as simple as a word or gesture.
“When I was a young adult, I was spending a lot of time at my parish, Saint Rose of Lima in Haddon Heights, and he visited a few times,” Father March recalled. “One time was for a funeral for a priest … and at the end, he made an announcement that if there’s any young men here who thinks that they might be getting called to the priesthood to listen to that call. I looked around, and it was just me and my buddy. We were the only two people at the funeral who he would have been referring to.”
Another time, during a Saint Rose of Lima social, Father March was sitting at a table eating dinner with friends. He felt a light hand on his shoulder. “I turned around, and it was the Bishop walking past. He wasn’t looking at me – it was just a signal. When I looked back on it, I was like, ‘He was calling me, but he never said a word.’”
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